Trade Micro Futures

Micro futures are standardized exchange-traded contracts that represent a fraction of a standard futures contract, typically one-tenth the size. They are listed and cleared on the same regulated exchanges as their standard equivalents, with the same price discovery mechanism, the same settlement process, and the same counterparty: the CME Clearing House. The difference is contract size, which allows traders to size positions more precisely and manage capital allocation across multiple markets more efficiently. 

The primary difference is contract size and the notional exposure that comes with it. A standard E-mini S&P 500 (ES) contract currently represents around $270,000 of index exposure, for example. The Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) represents approximately $27,000. Both contracts trade on CME Globex, are cleared through the same clearing house, and settle in the same way. The margin requirement for a micro contract is proportionally lower because the notional exposure is smaller, but the leverage ratio relative to margin is comparable. Micro contracts are not lower-risk products; they are smaller-sized products that allow for more precise risk management.

Micro futures are used across a range of trading approaches and portfolio contexts from active traders building or scaling directional positions, to portfolio managers hedging equity or commodity exposure against a specific book size, to traders diversifying across multiple futures markets without concentrating capital in large-notional standard contracts. The precision of micro contracts makes them a practical execution tool for strategies that require right-sized exposure, not a product category limited to any particular experience level.

Yes. Micro futures listed on the CME Group which includes the Micro E-mini equity index series, Micro WTI Crude Oil, Micro Gold, Micro Silver, Micro Bitcoin, and Micro Ether, trade on CME Globex, the CME's electronic trading platform, and are cleared through the CME Clearing House. The CME Clearing House acts as the central counterparty to every trade, eliminating bilateral counterparty risk between buyers and sellers. Positions held through StoneX are cleared through StoneX's FCM infrastructure in the same way as any other CME-listed futures contract.

There is no fixed universal minimum account size for trading micro futures because the requirements depend on the specific contracts being traded, current margin levels, and account type. Margin requirements for micro contracts are proportionally lower than standard contracts, reflecting the smaller notional size. Day trading margin requirements for some micro contracts may be lower than initial margin, where applicable and approved for your account. For current margin requirements and account funding guidance relevant to micro futures, visit the margin requirements page or speak with the StoneX futures team directly.